ISIS embedded in the Philippines - Battle in Mindanao

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fountainhall

ISIS embedded in the Philippines - Battle in Mindanao

Post by fountainhall »

Not really a topic for this part of the Board, but as many gays descend on the Philippines to enjoy its easy pace of life, its smiling people, cheap living costs and great beaches, this new development in the southern island of Mindanao is just another reason to take extra care.

The relatively new and crazy President's War on Drugs over the last few months and its swathe of many thousands of extra-judicial killings has been well-documented. As has Islamic violence in the south which has been going on for almost half a century. Like Thailand, the Muslims in the south have long called for greater autonomy and even an independent state. That autonomy was granted in a peace deal outlined with the so-called Moro Liberation rebels in 1996. That quickly collapsed when actor and soon-to-be-jailed President Joseph Estrada resumed “all out war”.

A peace agreement establishing a new Islamic state within the country was finally signed in 2014. But later that year the leader of the rebels declared loyalty to the head of ISIS. After this ISIS-related group seized the Mindanao city of Marawi. Unable to retake the city, Duterte has now declared Martial Law in the island. His planes daily pummel the city but the Filipino ISIS militants joined by fellow rebels from Indonesia and Malaysia are holding out. Ironically it is Duterte himself who helped create the present crisis -
Mr. Duterte’s braggadocio is partly to blame for the escalation of the conflict. Last year, he rejected a cease-fire offer from the Maute group, which is leading the fight in Marawi. He said in December that when the group pledged to “go down upon Marawi to burn the place,” he responded, “Go ahead, do it.” The battle raging now began when Maute militants, who have joined forces with the Abu Sayyaf Islamist group, strongly resisted an attempt on May 23 by Philippine security forces to capture Isnilon Hapilon, Abu Sayyaf’s leader. Mr. Hapilon is on the F.B.I.’s list of most-wanted terrorists.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/15/opin ... terte.html

As in Mosul in Iraq, much of Marawi has been reduced to rubble with a resultant huge outflow of refugees. And as one Filipino soldier told CNN yesterday -
“They’re using ISIS tactics from Iraq and Syria now.”
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/25/asia/ ... index.html

The US Embassy in the Philippines has warnings for tourists to be extra careful – even in Manila. The US State Department has not revised its Philippines Travel Warning since December 2015! The UK’s Travel Warning was updated this month and includes the information about a gunman setting fire on 2 June to the Manila casino which resulted in 38 deaths.
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